FCB Thread moved at his request.
Part 1
Asked first question from Ink Un:
Why such a difference from the objective of promotion to the outcome 13th and Finishing with a whimper?
We failed this season - no one is hiding from that. We were in the playoffs up until WBA. We haven't had the worst season in this club's history. No point dwelling on it - let's look forward.
Ink Un - we need to reflect on what went wrong?
I congratulated the staff and players on creating the exception that the fans have on us. I and the staff have made this club bigger than it was when I Started. We spent over 100 days in top 6 this season and we were still not happy with 5th.
Why was it such a struggle at Carrow Road this season when it has been a hard place to come in the championship before?
We haven't done well this season at home. We know this. It will never be and has never been a place like Hillsborough last night. I've never seen Carrow Road like that in my time. Carrow Road is not a caldron and opposition players/fan have never been worried about coming here...ever. Brining in a drum does nothing and clubs aren't scared of that. We need to find different ways of making it a harder place for clubs to come and that is on us. We can't rely on the fans to do that. It is not the fans fault it is an easy place to come. That is on us. The fans never win us the game. We didn't go and beat Swansea because there were like 500 Norwich fans in the ground...no that was down to us winning it. The season ticket sales show that people want to come here and see good football. I am sure that if you weren't happy with it then you surely can find something better to do on the weekend than watch Norwich. It shows the fans are behind us.
What is a Norwich team about? The DNA seems to have gone. Do you understand why some fans ask the question about what is this clubs style?
Yes and no. I think some fans opinions are unfair especially if we come away from a game with 28 shots at goal and fans say we are not attacking come on now. it is an uneducated argument and you guys (media) love jumping on the 'we have no style'. We have played like a pathetic bunch and yet win and fans love it. We just ignore it and hopefully the fans will enjoy it but hey we won't impress everyone. There is a large age difference here. We needed to be more premier league strong and that is what Dean did. This season we were stuck in what are we trying to do, but this season we are clear on how we want to play. The great thing about us finding out what is happening for next season is that we have 6/7 weeks to totally plan what we are doing, the players coming and going, the preseason, players all in and ready.
You lost here to Boro and the international break came. Why didn't you move DS on then? You were 5th and 6 points off top two, but looked to be waining. Was there any thoughts on removing Dean then to get someone in over break?
No. Never. Not at all.
Okay, so that brings us onto DW. 5 wins in his first 7, but then only 1 in his last 11 games. That is a marked decline. Is this down to injuries to first team players Mclean, Hanley and Gibson and if so is that down to weakness in squad?
Look, you missed out Dowell who was a key player. Look no club can lose four massive players like that and be okay. Liverpool lost players and struggled. Fans think they are playing Football Manager and these fans are living on a computer game. We can't afford a big squad. You know what 1000k a week wage gets us --- a Kings Lynn player.
Let me take you back to an interview you did with the training ground guru (he said something about he won't go to watch football that he doesn't want to watch). Going by your statement have you failed and not achieved what you wanted?
Yes. Absolutely. People in my role don't come out and speak to media. You will see this when I am gone and the new person comes in and you'll be asking please can I talk to... and you'll get a no and you'll then think well at least Stuart used to talk to us and was honest. But I am not going to sit here and ignore the fact we have improved from where we were. Of course we wanted to stay in the premiership, but it takes huge investment to do that. Look at Southampton they have 3 points more than we did last season and they have spent over £143 million net. Look at us our record signing is still Time Close I am mean come on. People mention Brentford and Brighton and say look at them how come we aren't like them. listen Brentford has over £150 million thrown in over the last three years, and Brighton owner has invested over £700 million. People need to see that we have to do what we can with this backdrop. People need to see we were so very close this season. Only 6 points off the playoffs.
Is the academy pipeline still as strong in your eyes and is the plan to still bring youth players through to the 1st team?
It is stronger than ever. We turned down a massive offer for Omobamidele in January that was a lot larger than what we sole Godfrey for. We have Gibbs, Rowe, Kamara and then Hills and Warner are going to be close to the first team next season. It is as strong as ever. The training centre is amazing compared to what it was. We have the best clubs from around the world who come and scout/look at at our youngsters and the academy setup. we have more international youngsters in our youth setup than ever before. It is outstanding.
There was this banging sound to which PD said that isn't Dean Smith trying to get in is it? Webber said I think it is Nelson Oliveira.
What do you say to people who say the squad has come full circle and we are back where we were when you started in that the squad needs a lot of surgery to be top 6 worthy?
Yeah. We have come to an era and I can see why people say that. Losing McGovern, Byram, Pukki, and Krul losing his starting status and not being seen as a really important starting player. One of my regrets now is that we should have done more of this last summer and added a freshness to the squad then. We maybe should have moved on players who had been beaten up by relegations before and added players who were fresh and had the energy to do this for the first time with us. The Barnes signing is one of those types and we will go for a few more of the same ilk of Barnes. The reason we signed him was because of his experience. We have lost so much experience and leaders. Hanley out, Pukki gone, Byram gone, McGovern Gone, etc. We have so many young players who need the help of older heads like Barnes. Barnes will be able to help Idah and Josh upfront next season. Barnes is much like Rhodes to help younger guys. Our model is and will always be sign young players for not a big amount, train them, build them up, then sell for bigger money and then go again.
